FEBRUARY 2008 - INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Versus: State Innocence Project: Scarce Supply: Immigration is clearly one of the nation’s great debates. One man has been freed after 16 years and another 20 cases are While there are plenty of aspiring police officers, very few applicants Readers of The Justice Journal sound off. under consideration by this group which investigates people make it through the intense requirements, screening and training. Page 6 who may have been wrongfully incarcerated. Page 3 Page 9 ® February 2008 VOL. 2, ISSUE 1 Teen Prescription Drug Abuse Increasing in Fairfield County Ryan was a star basketball By NATALIE MISSAKIAN player in the wealthy suburb Correspondent of Newtown. Popular and personable, he came from an Like their peers across the country, ambitious, athletic family. Fairfield County teens are increasingly At the end of his finding their highs from grandma’s purse freshman year, like many of or their best friend’s medicine cabinet. his classmates, Ryan started Substance abuse experts throughout the dabbling in prescription region report a disturbing rise in teen drugs. First it was the Ritalin abuse of prescription drugs, particularly his doctor had prescribed to painkillers, saying many are switching treat his attention deficit from drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin disorder. Then it was Xanax, to heroin at ages younger than ever before. Klonopin, Vicodin, Percocet, The increase comes as abuse of other OxyContin or anything else drugs, such as marijuana, is dropping. he and his friends could get “It’s the biggest new drug trend for their hands on – either by adolescents and young adults,” said John searching the bathrooms at Hamilton, who heads a regional network weekend house parties or of drug prevention and treatment programs raiding their own parents’ in Greater Bridgeport. “I think in Fairfield medicine cabinets. County it is something that has become a An Officer and a Hero By the time he was a real concern.” President George W. Bush honored Officer senior, he was going through Todd Meyers of the West Hartford Police as many as 15 to 20 pills a day, right under his teachers’ noses, a few times “Outbreaks” in Fairfield County Department along with several other police being so bold as to take the stuff right at his desk. Nationwide, nearly one in five teens officers throughout the country with a national “It didn’t matter if you were the star basketball player or the kid from the has tried prescription medication to get Medal of Valor for heroism in Connecticut with other side of the tracks. Everyone was doing it,” said Ryan, who asked that high in their lifetime, according to a 2005 the tragic truck crash on Avon Mountain that his real name not be used. Today, at 26, Ryan is a recovering heroin addict. And he is not alone. - See Teen Drug Use on page 13 killed four people in July 2005. Story on page 15. Stamford Initiatives Lead to “Safe City” Designation By LEISA TAYLOR "By being proactive we made a lot more arrests. The patrol division Stamford’s national ranking was 44th, and Correspondent its regional ranking was fifth. Malloy was encouraged to make more vehicle stops. A lot of times, you points to several factors which have helped Bridgeport is the largest, Hartford is make a motor vehicle stop that starts out as a guy going through turn around Stamford’s crime image. the capital, and New Haven has Yale a red light. You can end up with a guy who’s got a warrant or “We reshaped and essentially University. But it’s Stamford that can boast someone who’s got a gun or drugs in the car.” modernized the police department to being the safest city in Connecticut. several years ago,” Malloy said. “We fully The ranking follows last month’s release of - Stamford Police Lt. Sean Cooney embraced community policing – the idea the FBI’s preliminary crime statistics for that police have to spend as much effort the first half of 2007. preventing crimes as they do apprehending “We saw a very substantial drop in crime approximately 120,000, ranks fourth in Mayor Proud of Police people who commit crimes. There’s also in the first half of 2007,” said Stamford population behind Bridgeport, Hartford, “The men and women of the Stamford the obvious benefit that for every crime Mayor Dannel P. Malloy. “We had an and New Haven. Waterbury is the fifth Police Department are to be commended you prevent, you don’t have a victim.” extraordinary year. Crime is unbelievably and final city within that definition. for this outstanding achievement,” Malloy Malloy also credits the city’s clearance low here.” Preliminary figures for the But the boast continues. Of the 250 said. “I am extremely proud of the rate of crimes as a deterrent to criminals. second half of 2007 also show a drop in cities across the country that reported data accomplishments of our police department “We have a great clearance rate in crime. to the FBI, Stamford ranked as the third personnel and am pleased that these Stamford,” he said. “I think this leads Naysayers might respond that since safest, an improvement from its ninth- statistics validate the hard work done by people to making a decision that if they’re the FBI defines “city” as a municipality place ranking in 2006. Moreover, of the 27 so many to maintain safe neighborhoods going to commit crimes, they need to with a population of 100,000 or more, cities in the northeast region that reported in our city.” go to other places to commit them. We only five Connecticut cities were in the data, Stamford came in second behind This picture wasn’t always so rosy. In race. Stamford, with a population of only Amherst Town, NY. 1995, when Mayor Malloy was first elected, - See Safe City on page 14 PAGE 2 THE JUSTICE JOURNAL FEBRUARY 2008 Technology for Security Systems Provides Numerous Benefits By RONALD WINTER technology can assist property owners does not stop plumbing systems, the ability to anticipate the problem Correspondent at security. McVeigh notes that “the days of leaving before it occurs is crucial. your doors unlocked are gone,” but rather than placing “It’s better to get a notice at 40 degrees, rather than In the mid-1980’s movie Weird Science, a teenaged trust in our fellow man, we have the ability to remotely come home to burst pipes at 10 degrees,” McVeigh loser, charged with watching over his absent parents’ monitor myriad conditions that could cause us harm. said. house with his best friend, uses computer technology “People want protection, but they also want In addition to enabling home and business owners to conjure up the gorgeous Kelly LeBrock, then convenience,” McVeigh says. Now, “you can sit at your to secure their property from distant locations, the throws an unauthorized party that results in damage of desk and look at your home on your computer.” new technology is not limited to just the wealthy. It Biblical proportions. In addition to smoke detectors and fire alarms, also makes security systems affordable to the average Unfortunately for most teenagers, it is possible to security systems now can be integrated with carbon family, he said, adding that the monthly cost is about create that kind of mess, but not to clean it up, at least monoxide detectors, medical alert detectors, and even the same as a teenager’s cell phone. not in a matter of seconds as occurs in the movie. low temperature detectors that can alert responders in While there now are many uses for security systems, Fortunately for most parents, the ability to monitor cold climates if a home heater is malfunctioning. the ultimate purpose of security systems is to deter their home, belongings, and errant teenagers from With cold temperatures creating the potential for crime, and seeing a decal on a building or window distant locales to prevent that kind of catastrophe now tens of thousands of dollars in damage from frozen often is sufficient to keep potential burglars moving is as close as the nearest computer. elsewhere. Bob McVeigh, president of the Connecticut Alarm McVeigh, who also is vice president for Security and Systems Integrators Association, CASIA (phone, Solutions in Norwalk, relates that some people try to 1-800-762-3099; Web site: http://www.casiact.org/ ), Use the following checklist when avoid installing a full system by simply pasting a decal says the days are long gone when homeowners were on their home or business, a ruse that usually doesn’t at the mercy of people they didn’t know, or clueless choosing an alarm company work for long in the presence of professional criminals. burglars needed to break an electric circuit to set off • Be sure that the installation company is a member of That approach merely says, “I’ve got something in my the alarms. CASIA, a Charter State Association of the National home worth protecting, but I didn’t really protect it,” CASIA is a trade organization that provides security Burglar & Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA). Members he adds. system education, consumer awareness, industry agree to maintain a high level of conduct under a Code of Criminals look for opportunities, which generally contacts, and regular news on Intrusion, Fire, and Ethics and render services at the highest level of quality. translates to the easiest road to do their crimes, Supervisory systems, closed circuit television, telephone • Call more than one company. Schedule an appointment McVeigh says. An effective security system does not and intercoms, home theaters, access control, and when all members of your household are present.